Sean BairdClearwater, Fla. — Sean Baird, associate with Colliers International Student Housing Group, has written commentary and compiled data and research about Tier 2 and Tier 3 student housing markets. The report defines Tier 2 universities as having fewer than 20,000 students and Tier 3 as having fewer than 10,000 students enrolled. Of these types of institutions in 2013, 8,278 units and 19,280 beds were sold; the average price per unit was $127,751; the average price per bed was $46,804; the average occupancy was 96 percent; and the average cap rate was 6.7 percent.

According to the report, the Tier 2 Tier 3 student housing markets saw an increase of approximately 25 percent in total number of sales with 61 properties transacting in 2013. Total sales increased by 45.7 percent to more than $747 million (with 49 properties reporting), up from approximately $512 million (48 properties reporting) in 2012. With an average sales price of approximately $15 million, it is estimated that approximately $900 million in total transactions occurred for the year.

The Southeast region led in Tier 2 and Tier 3 transaction activity with the largest increase in student housing sales. Both the number of sales and total transaction value more than doubled from 2012 to 2013, with 26 transactions and approximately $271 million in sales (taken from 23 reported transactions). While the Southeast had the highest transaction volume, sales prices in the Northeast were the highest in the country. The highest price per bed in 2013 was just below $100,000.

Orlando, Fla. — A partnership between American Campus Communities (ACC) and Walt Disney World Resort has broken ground on a $630 million residential community for participants of the Disney College Program…

San Francisco — A public-private partnership between American Campus Communities (ACC) and San Francisco State University has broken ground on a 584-bed mixed-use community on the university’s campus in San Francisco.

West Lafayette, Ind. — Nelson Partners Student Housing LLC, a private placement 1031 exchange sponsor, has acquired The Fairway, a 298-bed student housing community located near Purdue University in West Lafayette.

Tuscaloosa, Ala. — Spaces Management, in partnership with Progressive Properties, has broken ground on Blue Haus, a 114-bed student housing community located near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

College Park, Md. — Joint venture partners Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC and Rockpoint Group have sold University View, a 1,573-bed student housing community located adjacent to the University of Maryland in…

Alexandria, Va. — StonebridgeCarras has been selected to build the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, a $1 billion, 1 million-square-foot, technology-focused campus in Alexandria, less than two miles from Amazon’s HQ2 future site.

Tampa, Fla. — Colliers International has added three new members to its Tampa-based National Student Housing Group – Jonathan Holt as senior associate, Nicholas Coccodrilli as senior financial analyst and Meagan Dobson as client…

State College, Pa. — CA Student Living, the student housing investment and development division of CA Ventures, has broken ground on HERE at State College, a 510,112-square-foot mixed-use development located…

Student Housing Business and University Furnishings will present a complimentary webinar entitled “Designing Interiors for Gen Z — Creating Authentic Spaces in a Virtual World” on November 15th at 2 pm…

Charlotte, N.C. — Trez Forman Capital Group has provided $4.75 million in financing for a 390-unit, mixed-use community planned for development near the University of North Carolina at Charlotte campus.

Denver — Campus Advantage has been awarded management of two student housing communities located near the Auraria Campus, an educational facility which serves the University of Colorado - Denver, Metropolitan State…

Dallas — More than 185 student housing leasing, marketing and operations professionals gathered in Dallas yesterday to hone their social media marketing skills at SHB LeaseCon, held at the Westin Galleria.

Urbana-Champaign, Ill. — Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company, and Pavlov Media, one of the nation’s largest private providers of broadband services for multifamily real estate, plan to trial U.S. Citizens Broadband…

Dallas — An all-star speaker line-up is being put together for LeaseCon: A Social Media, Digital & Traditional Marketing Boot Camp, the exciting new conference event from Student Housing Business and the InterFace Conference…

Tallahassee, Fla. — Berkadia has secured $17.5 million in construction financing for a 143-key Hotel Indigo set to open as part of Urban Street Development’s FSU CollegeTown district near Florida State…

St. George, Utah — Vintage Capital Partners, an investment affiliate of Redstone Residential, has sold Vintage Tabernacle, a 265-bed student housing community located near Dixie State University in St. George.

San Marcos, Texas — Asset Campus Housing has been awarded management of Lyndon at Springtown, a 510-bed student housing community currently under construction near Texas State University in San Marcos.

Dallas — A joint venture between Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions and Wynne/Jackson has completed the second and final phase of Northside, a 1,500-bed student housing community located near the University…

Chicago — A joint venture between Capstone Development Partners and Harrison Street Real Estate Capital has closed on equity financing for an on-campus, mixed-use student housing community on the University…

Vermillion, S.D. — Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has secured $22.3 million in construction financing for the development of a 496-bed student housing community near the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

Richmond, Va. — Campus Apartments has acquired The Collection Midtown, a portfolio of 20 apartment buildings located within Richmond’s Fan and Museum District near Virginia Commonwealth University, for $31 million.

Rexburg, Idaho — Greystone has provided a $28.2 million Fannie Mae DUS loan for the acquisition of Northpoint Apartments, a student housing property located near Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg.

Dallas — Student Housing Business and the InterFace Conference Group are pleased to announce the launch of a new niche conference — SHB LeaseCon: A Social Media, Digital & Traditional Marketing Boot Camp —…

Morgantown, W.V. — Highland Realty Capital has arranged a $10.3 million bridge loan for The Ridge at Morgantown, a 644-bed student housing community located near West Virginia University in Morgantown.

Orlando, Fla. — Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. (PAC) has acquired The Retreat at Orlando, an 894-bed, cottage-style student housing community located near the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Champaign, Ill. — Gilbane Development Company has broken ground on Octave, a 538-bed student housing community located two blocks from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus in Champaign.

Lafayette, La. — The University of Louisiana at Lafayette and RISE: A Real Estate Company have broken ground on a 281,000-square-foot mixed-use development located on the university’s campus in Lafayette.

Athens, Ga. — HFF has arranged the $30.4 million recapitalization of River Club Apartments and River Club Townhomes, two student housing communities operated as a single property near the University of…

Fairhope, Alabama — Leeman Covey has announced his retirement as president and CEO of the Collegiate Housing Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Fairhope, Alabama, that works to assist colleges and…

Toronto and Chicago — In an effort to expand its global investment management platform, Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI) has agreed to acquire 75 percent of Harrison Street Real Estate…

College Station, Texas — Preferred Campus Communities, a wholly owned subsidiary of Preferred Apartment Communities, has acquired The Tradition, an 808-bed student housing community located one block away from the Texas…

Pittsburgh — Duquesne University has finalized the sale of Brottier Hall, an apartment-style residence hall located on the university’s campus in Pittsburgh, to Radnor Property Group and Harrison Street Real Estate…

Washington, D.C. — Howard University and Corvias have announced the completion of renovations at Howard Plaza Towers East, a 1,163-bed residence hall located on the university’s campus in Washington, D.C.

Austin, Texas — Asset Campus Housing has been awarded management of Ballpark Apartments, which consists of several student communities in central Austin, including Ballpark East, Ballpark South and Ballpark West.

Atlanta — The University System of Georgia has released a request for qualified concessionaires (RFQC) for a student housing public-private partnership for seven University System of Georgia institutions.